Tiananmen redux? Protests in Egypt turn violent; pro-Mubarak forces attack
1:15:White House spokesman Robert Gibbs:
“The time for a transition has come, and that time is now.”
———–
Things are turning violent in Egypt, and the provocation is coming from pro-government forces.
The Egyptian military has told protesters to go home, that with Hosni Mubarak’s pledge not to seek re-election, their message has been heard and heeded. Protesters have concluded that no, that’s not quite what has happened, and they decided to stay.
So this morning, an organized, orchestrated effort by a large number of pro-Mubarak protesters began to push the anti-Mubarak groups out of Tahrir Square in Cairo. A few minutes ago, for example, Mubarak allies launched an assault of 40 to 50 riders on horses and camels into the anti-government demonstrators. Some of the riders were pulled from their mounts and beaten.
Here’s a Youtube video of the pro-Mubarak forces, many of them mounted, others carrying weapons, surging toward the square.
The Egyptian military is reportedly standing by watching the violence.
8:25: People are digging up rocks from the pavement to use as weapons. According to one Egyptian witness, the pro-Mubarak forces “carry large well-made banners – replicas of the banners that are used in the rigged elections, proclaiming for Mubarak.” In other words, this is a well-coordinated counterattack.
8:45: It’s pretty stunning how quickly all this has played out, and I’m not referring just to this morning’s events. A few weeks ago, the idea that the Mubarak government would be teetering today, along with that of Jordan, Yemen and perhaps others, would have been all but inconceivable. If you ensure that change can’t occur gradually, you ensure that it will come all at once.
8:59: Gunshots can be heard now.
9:04: Mohamed ElBaradei: This is “a criminal act done by a criminal regime”.
9:16 Fox News interviewing Mitch McConnell on health care repeal? Really?
9:33 I’m seeing reports that the pro-gov forces have essentially sealed the exits from the square. That could be very ominous, because it doesn’t happen by accident.
9:56: There’s no real doubt that this is government-sponsored, government-driven and government-planned violence. And however it shakes out, that poses a real challenge to the Obama administration in the days ahead. Do they cut off aid? Break relations? Having sided publicly with Mubarak’s ouster, what do you do now that he has turned to violence against his own people to stay in power?
10:04: Ali Jomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, tells all Egyptians to go home.
“I greet President Mubarak who offered dialogue and responded to the demands of the people. Going against legitimacy is forbidden (Haram).
This is an invitation for chaos. We support stability. What we have now is a blind chaos leading to a civil war. I call on all parents to ask their children to stay home.”
10:13: British PM David Cameron:
“These are despicable scenes that are we are seeing and they should not be repeated. They are underline the need for political reform and frankly for that political reform to be accelerated….
If it turns out that the regime in any way has sponsored or tolerated this violence, that is completely unacceptable.”
10:19: Al Jazeera producer on scene:
“They are throwing Molotov cocktails at the anti-Mubarak protesters. The army has backed off from the Corniche – they used to have a few tanks on the beachfront road, but they have pulled out now.”
10:45: Darkness starting to fall in Cairo; Molotov cocktails raining down on protesters from surrounding buildings. This is going to get very bad.
11:10: multiple, multiple reports of media — foreign and Egyptian — being targeted for violence.
Sherine Tadros, Al Jazeerah English, Tweet:
“right in middle of clashes. I’ve been hit in the face. huge stampedes. Rocks flying. Crazy atmosphere.”
11:16: From the Guardian blog (UK), regarding a Tweet by State Dep’t spokesman PJ Crowley, and they have a point:
“US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley has infuriated people with his appeal for “all sides in #Egypt to show restraint and avoid violence”.
Here is just a sample of the reaction on Twitter:
@draddee
Did @PJCrowley really call on all sides to stop the violence?? All sides!!!!!!!?? Is the USG watching Egyptian State TV’s coverage today?
@AfriNomad
Dear @PJCrowley, You are a coward. Dear #SecClinton, You are a coward. @BarackObama this is your Rwanda moment #Jan25 #Egypt
@weddady
If u support the ppl of #Egypt and want Hosni Mubarak out pls tell the state dept @PJCrowley to stop their idiotic statements
@Salma_Tweets
@pjcrowley,@barakobama,@statedepartment what are you doing to help us, we’re being killed by Mubarak in Tahrir, long live US Freedom!!!!!
11:32: Tweet from scene:
@allawati: Just saw a foreign journalist being chased by a mob with weapons. He was alone. They got him. God help him.
12:00: The lights have been shut off at Tahrir Square, and all exits have been closed. The panic and desperation of those trapped and under attack there can only be imagined.
12:17> From Nick Kristof’s blog at NYTimes:
“In my area of Tahrir, the thugs were armed with machetes, straight razors, clubs and stones. And they all had the same chants, the same slogans and the same hostility to journalists. They clearly had been organized and briefed. So the idea that this is some spontaneous outpouring of pro-Mubarak supporters, both in Cairo and in Alexandria, who happen to end up clashing with other side — that is preposterous. It’s difficult to know what is happening, and I’m only one observer, but to me these seem to be organized thugs sent in to crack heads, chase out journalists, intimidate the pro-democracy forces and perhaps create a pretext for an even harsher crackdown.”
From an eyewitness posting at the UK’s Guardian:
“The first act of violence I saw was a family crossing street into Tahrir Square and a car passed by with a group of women and suddenly they got out of the car and started cursing, intimidating and throwing stones as they ran after the family harassing them and other people. We started creating human chain around the square and inside the square we were putting signs calling it “Shuhada Square” (Martyr Square) to remember the 300 people who died so far. Peace was maintained inside the square. We decided to take a break and go home. As we are walking away from the square, suddenly I see pro Mubarak protesters on horses and camels riding down from Talaat Harb Square toward us, cursing me and my husband. They had whips and all kinds of weapons on them. I called to check on my friends who’d stayed in Tahrir Square and they began to shout that they are being beaten – my friend described to me what she was seeing: a 7-year-old-boy was wounded by stones thrown at him by the pro Mubarak campaigners. The anti Mubarak camp kept chanting: Peaceful. Peaceful. Peaceful but the pro camp kept pushing in and they had all kinds of weapons on them and the stone throwing fight began. In the meantime, all they have on national TV is a broadcast of peaceful protesters chanting pro-mubarak [slogans] and callers calling in blaming everything on the anti-Mubarak protests and saying that they deserve whatever happens to them because they didn’t stop.”
– Jay Bookman
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303 comments Add your comment
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:15 am
40-50 against hundreds of thousands of protesters???
criminey, talk about a death wish.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:16 am
it’s been ages since I could say this …
FIRSTIES!
stands for decibels
February 2nd, 2011
8:21 am
40 to 50 riders on horses and camels
I hope Mubarak is at least compensating their families generously.
Union
February 2nd, 2011
8:22 am
i was watching pbs coverage of the happenings going on over there.. as they were interviewing people coming up the road the obvious question was asked.. “who did they want to replace mubarak” and they answer was.. they didnt have a clue. kind of like when obama was elected.. people didnt have a clue what his positions were.. etc..
sometimes we want change.. but without a plan.. sometimes we get more/less than we bargained for.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:23 am
The pro-Mubarak counter-protest numbers in the thousands, perhaps more, USnUK. They have apparently come armed for conflict, with uniformed police among them.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:23 am
dB – can’t imagine what the ask was “so … what are you doing tomorrow? ever read ‘Charge of the Lightning Brigade’??”
Call it like it is
February 2nd, 2011
8:24 am
What I found so interesting was the pictures of the citizens of Egypt watching Obama on a live feed, hanging on his every word. Funny how all we hear is how the middle east doesnt want us involved in their business yet, when our leaders speak, they listen. Could you even imagine, say in NY, everybody stopping in time square to look up at the screens to pay attention to a leader of another country?
Thats a lot of power.
Hootinanny Yum Yum
February 2nd, 2011
8:25 am
So. Into the Mubarak vacuum. Moderate or radical Islamic based leadership?
Same thing for Tunisia, Yemen, etc, etc.
What they really need in Cairo is a good community organizer.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:26 am
jay – sounds like the military’s luck has finally run out – they’re going to have to choose sides
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:27 am
LIGHT Brigade! sorry, all those lightning snow storms have gone to my head …
lynnie gal
February 2nd, 2011
8:30 am
The pro-Mubarak protesters are very aggressive and violent, from what I’m witnessing on CNN right now. They attacked the peaceful, pro-democracy demonstrators at the low point of their numbers, since the pro-democracy group was tired and many decided to go home for a day or two until Friday, when the largest protest is planned, in the millions. The rumor is that the pro-government group has been paid by state run companies and are being paid by the government.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:30 am
The military appears to have taken sides by doing nothing, USnUK.
Bud Wiser
February 2nd, 2011
8:30 am
The catastrophic failures of the Obama administration and their complete LACK of a definitive foreign policy, a stance that leaves the rest of the world scratching their (heads) and asking “what’s next..?”, is being played out yet again on foreign soil.
I guess bowing to the sand trash didn’t work….better come up with something better.
Try crawling on your belly like a snake Mr POTUS, you cannot shame yourself and your country any more than you have already.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:34 am
and right on cue, Bud raises the tone
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:35 am
People are digging up rocks from the pavement to use as weapons.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
February 2nd, 2011
8:36 am
Well, about time it got intrusting. I was awful bored watching thousands of people milling around holding up signs and shaking fists. It was kind of like watching NASCAR without the wrecks or hockey with everybody giving the high-five and trying to keep from running into each other. Now we’re finally going to get some heads cracked open. It might be worth watching.
I would write more but I’m headed straight to the nearest bar to bring in beer and watch the TVs. I wonder how much they paid these pro-Mubarak people to get the TV ratings up.
Have a good Wednesday everybody.
stands for decibels
February 2nd, 2011
8:37 am
Bud raises the tone
I fully expect to hear a slightly cleaned-up version of this from the members our loyal opposition in the House & Senate, today. Emphasis on “slightly.”
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:40 am
According to one Egyptian witness, the pro-Mubarak forces “carry large well-made banners – replicas of the banners that are used in the rigged elections, proclaiming for Mubarak.” In other words, this is a well-coordinated counterattack.
carlosgvv
February 2nd, 2011
8:41 am
If worst comes to worst, there will be a free for all uprising, thousands will be killed and a new anti-US Govt. will be put in place. Gas prices will greatly rise, unemployment will skyrocket and there will be much misery. Get ready for a long, hard ride.
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
8:44 am
I need the “here comes another Islamic theocracy” crowd to ask itself one simple question; from where do these “radicals” originate? how do they come to exist and what events lead them into the “power vaccum”? I think most observers know the answer. in the irony of ironies, some are proferring a passive/aggressive foreign policy. I use the term passive/aggressive because while some suggest Bush sprinkled the seeds of democracy in the Middle East, the very same crowd is now critical of Obama for not “supporting our ally, Mubarak”. and just for sh*ts and giggles, has anyone noted that Iraq under Saddam WAS closer to Egypt, than Iran (not an Islamic theocracy), but since 2003, it is Iran and not “moderate Islam” which has filled the vaccum.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:45 am
It’s pretty stunning how quickly all this has played out, and I’m not referring just to this morning’s events. A few weeks ago, the idea that the Mubarak government would be teetering today, along with that of Jordan, Yemen and perhaps others, would have been all but inconceivable.
Joel Edge
February 2nd, 2011
8:47 am
“The military appears to have taken sides by doing nothing”
Jay, if the military takes sides with Mubarak they’re supporting the “repressive regime”. If they support the protesters and the Brotherhood takes control, it’s the end of the military (especially the leadership) as they’ve known it.
The military can’t win this.
I am totally discounting the breakout of a secular, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness kind of western style government. Don’t believe it’s going to happen.
Hootinanny Yum Yum
February 2nd, 2011
8:47 am
Why has the Obama Administration been so vocal regarding the protests in Egypt versus the protests in Iran?
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
8:48 am
There are a lot of people/groups with a vested interest in maintaining at least some of the perquisites of power. They don’t want the gov’t toppled and replaced by a free-for-all vacuum.
Joel Edge
February 2nd, 2011
8:50 am
” replicas of the banners that are used in the rigged elections, proclaiming for Mubarak”
Sounds like they’ve decided to quit listening to us. Gonna fight for it.
Union
February 2nd, 2011
8:51 am
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:45 am
“It’s pretty stunning how quickly all this has played out, and I’m not referring just to this morning’s events. A few weeks ago, the idea that the Mubarak government would be teetering today, along with that of Jordan”
youre not the only one.. the obama administration was caught completely off guard as well. odd.. the protesters were referring to mubarak as a pawn of the united states and america.. so where does that put us exactly?
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
8:55 am
“so where does that put us exactly?”
Exactly? On the sidelines, where we should be. This is THEIR issue. It won’t be ours until some kind of resolution is reached.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
8:56 am
“Why has the Obama Administration been so vocal regarding the protests in Egypt versus the protests in Iran?”
I suggest you go read a little history about the US involvement in Iranian politics
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
8:56 am
Um, Jay, haven’t read your column yet, but before I do, I wanted to ask, what is with Luckovich’s cartoon?
Has Palin threatened the groundhog?
Joel Edge
February 2nd, 2011
8:57 am
“so where does that put us exactly?”
SOL
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
8:58 am
Union
“the obama administration was caught completely off guard as well.”
Egypt has a repressive regime with an extensive internal security apparatus. What would have been odd would be our foreseeing this while they didn’t.
But as I see this point made several times, I have to wonder: if we had seen it coming, down to the time and the scope…. so what? What should we have done any differently than we’re now doing?
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
8:59 am
“Has Palin threatened the groundhog?”
I wondered about that too, because someone on the Vent came very close to saying the same thing Luckovich did: “I have a feeling if Phil sees his shadow on Wednesday he may just be shot”
Union
February 2nd, 2011
8:59 am
dog.. you must be one of those people that go shopping without a list. it would be in our best interest to plan ahead for whatever potential issues are going to arise from this issue. “their” issue has the potential to affect us all..
i was not suggesting military intervention or anything of that sort.. but we do need to understand who the “players” are
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
8:59 am
some updates and video above
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
9:00 am
“What should we have done any differently than we’re now doing?”
Nothing different. And anyway, if Obama HAD been more “involved” the only difference to his detractors is that they would then be saying he was interfering in the sovereignty of another country.
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
9:01 am
Bud Wiser, thanks for corroberating my 8:44. American HAS NEVER HAD A DEFINITIVE FOREIGN POLICY, beyond propping up leaders who support US corporate interests, OR more often than not, eliminating leaders whose “interests” do not match ours (and by ours I mean the plutocracy, not We the People). the whole enterprise (pun intended) is sprinkled with words like “democracy” “human rights” and “freedom” but our “foreign policy” is merely the projection and furtherance of our domestic interests. we can debate the wisdom of such policy, but to ignore the turd in the punch bowl, or to view this as some sort of Obama is bad, Bush was good nonsense is, as I noted on Monday, almost “Orwellian” (two good, four legs bad). and if you don’t like George Orwell, try George Washington. in his farewell address he watrned of the the consequences of alliances. ; “’tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent Alliances with any portion of the foreign world…” as valid and prescient in the 1790’s as the 1990’s (and beyond)
finn mccool
February 2nd, 2011
9:03 am
Downright embarrassing the americans or america is somehow responsible for every democratic revolution.
Arrogant basteds
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
9:03 am
““their” issue has the potential to affect us all.. ”
When did I every say it didn’t? But that still doesn’t mean that there is anything we should be doing “about” it. It’s still their issue, and their’s to resolved. At THIS POINT all we can do is wait and see how it plays out. We’ll have to deal with the aftermath no matter what happens or who is in charge in the end. Once we know that, THEN we can “deal” with it.
“i was not suggesting military intervention or anything of that sort.. but we do need to understand who the “players” are”
And we are in the process of learning that now. Just as THEY are, also.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:03 am
I was watching all this unfold this morning — my mouth dropped when I saw the guys storm in on horses and camels — how bizarre. I was thinking “and what century is this?”
Anywho, sudden change always seems to bring out the worst in people — I think most people do not like sudden change which is why we have the Senate for one thing. The House are supposed to be the hot-headed “revolutionary” types, with the Senate as being more level headed (as seen during Clinton’s impeachment). But it all has to start somewhere, and even here in our country we see violence and hate speech when people perceive that things are not the same or to their own liking, so it seems this is human nature.
One Nation Under educated
February 2nd, 2011
9:04 am
“Mr POTUS, you cannot shame yourself and your country any more than you have already.”
This might have credibility of my 1-yr-olds baby poop if you had written it 3 years ago, also. Little Nero with a Cowboy Hat humiliated this entire nation for 50 years.
And my hobby continues – we’re up to 971 – count em – 971 references on Fox to some form of the stupid phrase..
“…will Obama…let..the Muslim brotherhood…”
(with the obligatory Fox question mark)
or my fav “…Obama…and….the Muslim brotherhood…”
Is almost like Fox is deliberately trying to make the Bitters think he’s the grand poobah of the MB. Now that would be unethical, irresponsible, and might incite another hood-wearer to action. If any wingnut on here has an ounce of decency, they would be shamed by this chicanery. Uh-huh
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:04 am
Union
dog? American Idol wasn’t on this week, was it?
“you must be one of those people that go shopping without a list.”
A list means you know what’s coming. Again, to my question: even if we had seen unrest of this scope coming, would we have known what’s coming any more than we do now? And would we have done anything differently than we’re now doing?
Frankly, seems nothing more than an opportunity to levy a criticism at the administration.
Union
February 2nd, 2011
9:05 am
paul.. this was a civil uprising.. not one put on by the govt. humint should have had this covered. to not get something this big is a sign of some very bad things..
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
9:05 am
“I was thinking “and what century is this?” ”
Mounted riders are very effective at crowd control. Just ask the NY police mounted patrol.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:05 am
Mohamed ElBaradei: This is “a criminal act done by a criminal regime”.
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:05 am
Union
Clarification: would we have known what’s coming //once events kicked off// any more than we do now?
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
9:06 am
“not one put on by the govt. humint should have had this covered”
yeah, SOMEONE should have known that Tunisian vendor was going to set himself on fire and “spark” all of this.
stands for decibels
February 2nd, 2011
9:06 am
I have to wonder: if we had seen it coming, down to the time and the scope…. so what? What should we have done any differently than we’re now doing?
You got me. Maybe counseled the military to keep a tighter lid on their supplies of spare uniforms?
(that’s if you believe that the military actually had them stolen by the pro-Mubarak secret police, as opposed to simply handing them out and saying “this never happened…”)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/88c7739a-2e00-11e0-a49d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Co3wAk7p
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:07 am
Paul – 8:58 – zackly
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:07 am
Joe
“American HAS NEVER HAD A DEFINITIVE FOREIGN POLICY,”
Quite an assertion covering a couple hundred years…..
Bosch – not a good t-shirt slogan, I think -
Union
February 2nd, 2011
9:08 am
@ paul.. yes.. very much so… thats one of the reasons that issue like panama played out like they did.. intelligence was interwoven with locals who basically stated what they intended to do if we did something.
there is no need to attack this administration.. they themselves are constantly pointing out how incompetent they are.. why should we pile on?
Joel Edge
February 2nd, 2011
9:09 am
“What should we have done any differently than we’re now doing?”
Get the TransCanada pipeline in high gear.
Restart drilling in the gulf.
Up production of bio-diesel by any means possible.
Oughta be a golden age for “green energy”. I figure this is gonna spread, and I don’t have Mr. Trumps optimism.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:09 am
” you must be one of those people that go shopping without a list”
Who shops with a list? How weird.
(hehehehe….j/k Union)
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:11 am
Paul – 9:07 – regarding the “definitive” US foreign policy, I was reminded of a quote by Groucho Marx –
“Those are my my principles. If you don’t like them, I’ve got others”
Joel Edge
February 2nd, 2011
9:13 am
“Those are my my principles. If you don’t like them, I’ve got others”
Priceless. Gotta go.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:13 am
Bravo Paul! Bravo! (wild raucous applause)
Doggone,
“Just ask the NY police mounted patrol.”
Yeah, but you don’t see them riding in with swords a swirling…..
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:15 am
Union
I think it’s more the nature of these events that sometimes it hits critical mass and just launches. Things go along for decades and fester, then … boom. Rather like a pressure cooker with a relief valve slowly getting clogged.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:16 am
Bosch – 9:13 – not now, you don’t … but in the good-old-days, before political correctness, Miranda and “innocent until proven guilty”, that was a different story.
WTF
February 2nd, 2011
9:16 am
Leave it to the Egyptians to take away air time from the Super Bowl.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:17 am
Does that groundhog have a bodyguard?
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:17 am
In the midst of this, Fox News interviewing Mitch McConnell on health care repeal?
Really?
Shouldn’t they be asking him about Egypt?
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:19 am
“Frankly, seems nothing more than an opportunity to levy a criticism at the administration.”
Of course it is — that’s a given. Obama can do no right. Their criticisms are actually becoming quite passe’.
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:20 am
Joel 9:09
Okay, you’re gone, but to use that as a springboard…
We had the Iranian revolution, the embargo of the 70 and did essentially nothing to get off foreign oil.
Now this.
Say what you will, from the time he took office, this president has made nonpetroleum energy efforts a hallmark of his administration. And it was done in advance of any crisis.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:21 am
Of course, switch back to CNN and they’re doing the Midwest snowstorm.
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
9:22 am
So Egypt is going to be run by Muslims, BFD.
Peadawg
February 2nd, 2011
9:22 am
“Shouldn’t they be asking him about Egypt?” – They would except they don’t even know where Egypt is, remember?
Or have you not seen the picture, Jay?
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
9:24 am
“Yeah, but you don’t see them riding in with swords a swirling”
Nope, they use batons
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:24 am
Paul is my hero today. Just saying.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:25 am
Jay – it’s the corollary to “all politics is local” – all media is national
Deep Throat
February 2nd, 2011
9:26 am
Jay your continue to be so bias ! You want to criticize Fox News AND McConnell, but no mention of your Oblunder in Chief remaining silent. With your continued bias one can not take you serious.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:28 am
watching Sky news – you know, it would be a lot easier if this protest was shirts and skins so you’d know who is who … just sayin.
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
9:29 am
“but no mention of your Oblunder in Chief remaining silent”
Might that just possibly be because he HASN’T been silent?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:29 am
Deep – how has Obama remained silent?
dude, you need to clean out your ears.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:29 am
“but no mention of your Oblunder in Chief remaining silent. With your continued bias one can not take you serious.”
Really Deep? And you expect anyone to take YOU serious with such comments?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:30 am
Doggone – i owe you a coke
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:31 am
And Deep, what do YOU think Obama should do? Send in troops? Order Mubarek out? Side with the demonstrators? Which ones?
Do you actually think before you post or are you on “I hate Obama no matter what and anything he does I’ll type he’s an idiot” auto pilot?
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
9:31 am
Mitch is as meally mouthed as they come. What a tosser.
Deep Throat
February 2nd, 2011
9:32 am
All blind drunk liberals chirp in ha..ha..ha !
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:32 am
And blind drunk wingnuts can’t answer a question.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:33 am
I’m seeing reports that the pro-Mubarak forces have essentially sealed the square, preventing any exit.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:34 am
“Do you actually think before you post or are you on “I hate Obama no matter what and anything he does I’ll type he’s an idiot” auto pilot?”
I know what my money is on …
Deep Throat
February 2nd, 2011
9:35 am
Borsch , I never said he should do anything, but for Jay and his following to attack Fox News and McConnell is a stupid comment, what can McConnell do ?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:37 am
Jay – Sky is reporting that Pro-Mubarak forces are sealing off the streets, but they say that they don’t seem strong enough to hold any kind of sustained attack.
they’re also reporting that the army is firing warning shots for the first time.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:38 am
they are also reporting that the anti-mubarak forces are trying to get the women and children out of the square, so it’s entirely likely that the pro- forces will take the square this evening.
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
9:38 am
Face it, one day as it is happening today, the minorities will become majorities. Majorities bring out the worst in humans.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:39 am
USnUK, watching live twitter feeds from scene, pro-democracy people panicked at being cutoff from escape.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:41 am
jay – no doubt – watching the footage, it looks chaotic
popeye
February 2nd, 2011
9:42 am
“Borsch , I never said he should do anything, but for Jay and his following to attack Fox News and McConnell is a stupid comment, what can McConnell do ?
Deep Throat. This is what Jay wrote…..”In the midst of this, Fox News interviewing Mitch McConnell on health care repeal?
Really?
Shouldn’t they be asking him about Egypt?
Now pray tell where is Jay attacking Mitch McConnell?
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:42 am
” I never said he should do anything”
So, you don’t mind that Obama is silent, just that Jay hasn’t commented on the fact that he is?
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
9:44 am
I’d walk a mile to assault a camel.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:44 am
Bosch – 9:42 – but Obama hasn’t been silent, so why should Jay comment on things that aren’t happening.
“and in today’s news, it’s not hailing Spam”
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
9:45 am
Paul and USinUK, so we’re clear, “definitive” is the key word. we’ve obviously ALWAYS (despite Washington’s warning) had a Foreign Policy, but as I (and Groucho Marx) noted, it is more passive/aggressive than “definitive”. in other words, remember Prof. Venkman (Bill Murray) in Ghostbusters (when he first announced his rule of “never sleeping with possessed women”) then recanted; “…it’s more of a guideline, than a rule…” our foreign policy is and has always been a shell game. and we the People ain’t the one’s moving the shells; we’re the one’s trying to follow the pea under the shell.
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:45 am
Jay
Just got back on after the second power failure of the morning. How are you getting updates? Twitter? I’ve gone thru the networks and CNN and all I get are weather reports.
Normal
February 2nd, 2011
9:45 am
People,
I believe we are about to see a lot of people die on “live” TV. Most of them look very young from where I stand.
Jay I thing you were right on with the Tiananmen Square analagy.
AmVet
February 2nd, 2011
9:46 am
Good morning all.
Bosch touches on the truth, with both parts of that 9:31.
These neo-cons are still pining for the good old days when those paragons of American statesmanship, George, Dick & Karl, would already be plotting regime change based on these unfolding events.
In Indonesia.
But alas, the hate-filled Republican chickenhawks won’t likely get their wishes fulfilled. And shock and awe in Jakarta, which they could and would watch from their favorite comfy chair while inhaling Doritos and Cheese Puffs, will not be forthcoming.
Tell me cons, is it true that your favorite quote is “The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim”?
And as for the insane and irrational BHO loathing, do these cons get up in the morning and find a way to blame the Uppity Muslim for everything?When they have a flat tire – is it the first thought to enter their tiny minds, “That damn Obama!!”
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:47 am
USinUK,
“but Obama hasn’t been silent, so why should Jay comment on things that aren’t happening.”
Well, I know that, and YOU know that, but others seem to live in a different reality.
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
9:47 am
Riding camels into a riot? Well, it is Wednesday. You know…Hump Day.
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
9:48 am
Joe
I have a different opinion – wouldn’t refer to adapting circumstance and interests as a ’shell game.’
Bosch
Thanks, but have faith… I’ll be back to normal before you know it!
Del
February 2nd, 2011
9:48 am
“Shouldn’t they be asking him about Egypt.”
Of course not in the midst of this crises Fox News and McConnell shouldn’t get in the way of the White House and the State Department, which they wisely did not do.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:49 am
Joe,
“it’s more of a guideline, than a rule…” our foreign policy is and has always been a shell game”
As it should be — the world doesn’t operate in black and white and good guys sometimes become bad.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:52 am
Joe – we’re singing from the same hymnal – things change, regimes change, we try things (like CIA-sponsored overthrows), and find that they usually come back to bite us in the butt, so we try something else …
in fact, I can’t think of any country that has ever had a “definitive” foreign policy that has remained unchanged in more than 200 years
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:53 am
Interesting development – army tanks are now spewing smoke to try to disorient the crowds – not teargas, just smoke
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:53 am
and, in other news, Yasi has hit the NE Australian coast …
Deep Throat
February 2nd, 2011
9:54 am
Borsch you Jay and all liberals can not take any subject and discuss it with out attacking someone on the right. Quite frankly all tho what is happening in Egypt is huge, life goes on else where, I would imagine the people stranded in the Mid west don’t give a darn about Egypt at this point, lets keep things in perspective, don’t blast the Right just because of your own politico.
Del
February 2nd, 2011
9:54 am
It seems difficult if not impossible to determine which side has the most culpability for the violence. You have the Mubarak supporters with speculation that they’re really Egyptian Security forces in disguise and you have the anti-government protesters who have probably been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood and radical Islamic elements attempting to exploit the situation.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:54 am
Paul, from twitter, overseas newspapers, al jazeerah english, cnn, a couple of Mideast experts i follow, etc.,
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:55 am
Bada – 9:47 – (golf clap) – well done!
Boschh – 9:47 – I’ve never understood the people who think that just because they say something, that makes it so.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:56 am
Ban Ki Moon just issued a statement saying Mubarak must go
Big Wave Dave Cameron, too
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:57 am
“Borsch you Jay and all liberals can not take any subject and discuss it with out attacking someone on the right”
wow. did you the POINT of Jay’s post make a whistling sound when it went past you???
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
9:58 am
USinUK,
” I’ve never understood the people who think that just because they say something, that makes it so.”
In my opinion, it’s because they are the types who think only in absolutes and black and white.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
9:59 am
well, all I can tel you is that one of the side street blockades has broken and people are POURING in – but, you can’t tell which side they’re on
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
9:59 am
There’s no real doubt that this is government-sponsored, government-driven and government-planned violence. And however it shakes out, that poses a real challenge to the Obama administration in the days ahead. Do they cut off aid? Break relations? Having sided publicly with Mubarak’s ouster, what now that he has turned to violence against his own people to stay in power?
Deep Throat
February 2nd, 2011
10:00 am
All AJC liberals can stand and stretch now, you’ve been at your keyboards long enough.
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
10:00 am
CNN Live is streaming the battles in the square…. Audio is intermittent, but the visuals are compelling.
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
10:02 am
Deep Throat, i’m still trying to figure out your screen name (1 – 1970’s porn flick/sexual act 2 – mysterious source of information used to topple Nixon presidency). Bada Bing, is it me, or does the pro-Mubarak forces choice of mount not help the “camel jockey” epithet? unfortunately, folks; this is a “backlash to the backlash”. Mubarak will not be told how to act by the people of Egypt OR the POTUS. in many ways this is a sad mainfestion of the proverbial “don’t bring a knife to a gun fight”. don’t bring diplomacy and calls for democracy to a “fight” with an repressive, autocratic regime – ’specially one we enabled for 30 years.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
10:02 am
ByteMe,
Yeah, that’s what I’m watching….
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:02 am
These aren’t freedom fighters.
It’s a murderous mob to be followed eventually by an Islamic State.
Fred
February 2nd, 2011
10:04 am
Any info on the Muslim Brotherhood Jay?
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:04 am
From the Guardian:
“Ali Jomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, tells all Egyptians to go home.
“I greet President Mubarak who offered dialogue and responded to the demands of the people. Going against legitimacy is forbidden (Haram).
This is an invitation for chaos. We support stability. What we have now is a blind chaos leading to a civil war. I call on all parents to ask their children to stay home.”
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
10:04 am
Scout is picking sides.
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
10:04 am
From time to time, the tree of Liberty must be watered with a little blood.
Fred
February 2nd, 2011
10:05 am
LOL Jay, Scout has the mantra down already. And I only heard 30 seconds of Sean………..
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:08 am
Yeah Scout, I wonder what the Boston Massacre would have looked like on CNN and Youtube. Something much like this, I’d imagine, if on a smaller scale.
You know, a “murderous mob” of colonials and all?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:08 am
one of theentrances to the square on the Nile side is showing a lot fighting – the pro-Mubarak people are pushing the pro-Democracy people out …
Del
February 2nd, 2011
10:09 am
Jay, this may be a government plan in motion, however, no one knows to what extent the protest movement has been infiltrated by radical Islamic elements or if the protest has been covertly taken over by the M.B. with Iranian sponsorship. It could be our own Intelligence resources don’t really have a handle on that question.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:10 am
Jay – criminey, at least the British were wearing uniforms – from what a reporter just said, people are getting the crap beaten out of them only for the people to look at their identity cards after the fact and realizing that they AREN’T pro-Mubarak
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
10:11 am
Deep Throat, why is it “huge”? because thje military industrial complex and the perpetual war neo-cons are telling you it is “huge”? and before you accuse me of name-calling, go to the American Conservative online and read the recent articles by Pat Buchanan (Monday) and Andrew Bacevich (last Thursday). both scribes are dyed in the wool (paleo) conservatives, not passive/aggressive (neo) conservatives. the fact that you continue to view this as “conservatives” vs. “liberals” and accuse “liberals” of refusing to view this within some geopolitical context (in favor of “name-calling”) is a “pot meet kettle” moment.
Here Spot
February 2nd, 2011
10:11 am
Its time for Hosni to squelch this little rebellion and if some people must die then so be it.
Jimmy62
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
Mubarak is a jerk, unfortunately the most likely to take power if he fails are religious extremists who aren’t going to be any better.
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
Enter the goons.
Here we go.
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
10:12 am
The middle east run by middle easterners, what a novel idea.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
10:13 am
Del,
I heard a report this morning that some of the pro-Mubarek protestors were non-uniformed police officers.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
10:13 am
While the army has not yet been reported to be trying to break up the clashes, several protesters have been said to be flocking to soldiers present in the vicinity for protection against the pro-Mubarak supporters and alleged plainclothes police who are among them.
Read more: Clashes in Egypt’s Tahrir Square | STRATFOR
It’s also being reported that some of the anti-Mubarak protesters have been caught with guns.
As to the Muslim Brotherhood…what can an organization expect? When they lay down with dogs, they’re forever afflicted with the fleas. A splintered group that no one trusts. The who’s who of Islamists.
Their earliest reprieve was granted by Sadat and we see what that got him. As much as jay would like to deny it, Egypt’s 2005 elections were less rigged than any before because Bush had pushed for greater democratization in the Middle East. As a result, the MB, running as independents won 88 seats, making it the biggest opposition bloc in parliament.
In 2003 Bush sharply denounced not just tyranny in the Arab states but the logic by which the West had abetted it. “Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe—because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty,” he said. “As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export.”
Was Bush right or wrong to do that?
While I support the protesters, they should have spent more time selecting a voice that would lead Egypt to where they wanted it to go. As it is, they’ve allowed questionable leaders to adopt their cause.
Haste makes waste.
I’m cheering for the protesters and their military.
Let’s not forget that it’s been reported Hamas has been crossing into Egypt. Could they be among the pro-Mubarak supporters. Nothing would make them happier than to provoke a clash between the military and the protesters.
Fred
February 2nd, 2011
10:14 am
That’s nice Del, but what exactly IS the Muslim Brotherhood? Ostensibly they are non violent and were one of the few groups that spoke out AGAINST the attacks on September 11th 2001. They don’t seem to support jihads and since their inception in 1928 they have opposed violence.
Iranian influence? The MB was started in Egypt………
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
10:16 am
“who have probably been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood”
Infiltrated? By an over 50 year old organization that has been PUBLIC in it’s support of the protesters? That kind of “infiltration”?
Disgusted
February 2nd, 2011
10:16 am
CNN producer Steve Brusk Tweeted, “Anderson [Cooper] said he was punched 10 times in the head as pro-Mubarak mob surrounded him and his crew trying to cover demonstration.”
In every disaster, there’s always some redeeming feature.
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
10:17 am
Anyone got the line on the Super Bowl ? This Egyptian mess had sidetracked the big things happening in the US of A.
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
10:18 am
What would Jesus say to do ?
Might he not say: if the leader says “‘I’m Egyptian and will die on Egyptian soil’, then let him do so … “
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:19 am
Al Jazeera producer on scene:
“They are throwing Molotov cocktails at the anti-Mubarak protesters. The army has backed off from the Corniche – they used to have a few tanks on the beachfront road, but they have pulled out now.”
Del
February 2nd, 2011
10:22 am
Bosch,
It seems that whenever chaos on this level isn’t brought under control, ideally in a peaceful manner the worst case scenarios prevail. It’s pretty much up to the Army as to who’ll they will ultimately support and that will determine who wins and I’m sure division probably even exists there as well. Hopefully, the people of Egypt will end up the winners.
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
10:23 am
Scout, are you referring to the guys on the horses/camels, or the protestors?
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:24 am
Jay:
A couple of points:
1) The Boston Massacre involved the British firing on unarmed civilians. Future President John Adams a leading “Patriot” represented the soldiers in court.
“In the trial of the soldiers, which opened November 27, 1770, Adams argued that if the soldiers were endangered by the mob, which he called “a motley rabble of saucy boys, negroes, and molattoes, Irish teagues and outlandish jack tarrs,”[26] they had the legal right to fight back, and so were innocent. If they were provoked but not endangered, he argued, they were at most guilty of manslaughter. The jury agreed with Adams and acquitted six of the soldiers. Two of the soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter because there was overwhelming evidence that they fired directly into the crowd, however Adams invoked Benefit of clergy in their favor: by proving to the judge that they could read by having them read aloud from the Bible, he had their punishment, which would have been a death sentence, reduced to branding of the thumb in open court.”
2) The Egyptian Freedom Fighters ………… have destroyed priceless mummies and artifacts, let out the prisoners and terrorists, are looting everywhere and are now beating innocent police officers just trying to make a living.
3) ByteMe: If I have to choose between a Mubarak who says he will step down for the next election and an Islamic state controlling the Suez Canal it’s an easy choice.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:25 am
Jay:
““They are throwing Molotov cocktails at the anti-Mubarak protesters. The army has backed off from the Corniche – they used to have a few tanks on the beachfront road, but they have pulled out now.”
You could do a much better job as a “combat journalist” if you were there. Won’t the AJC go for a plane ticket ?
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:27 am
“… innocent police officers just trying to make a living.”
Just like the KGB, huh Scout? Just innocent police officers. Your friendly neighborhood cop.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
10:27 am
“CNN Anderson Cooper ‘punched 10 times in head’ by mob in Egypt…. ”
I guess the far left will say those attackers were violent tea partiers disguised as Egyptians.
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
10:27 am
What would Jesus say to do?
If your leader says to you “It’s your choice: either me or chaos” then the righteous will always choose chaos.
Better a true chaos in the streets and peace in the heavens than a false peace in the streets and disorder in the heavens.
Go forth, my followers, and make peace – and wage war – as you must.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
10:28 am
Del @ 10:22,
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve been struck as to how the military appears to be neutral in this — that should be a sign to Mubarek to leave. Even today, the worst we’ve seen, in total chaos, they are sitting still.
It is also interesting to think about how many of these “new” protestors are actually “pro Mubarek” or “pro lets stop this protesting, get back to normal and wait for September.”
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:28 am
Del:
You and I know if the Islamists get control of that canal and start toying with its use (i.e., no more passage for U.S. war ships), that’s just the thing that starts a full scale war/invasion.
Del
February 2nd, 2011
10:30 am
Fred, The M.B. goes back many years and is well organized. Although it’s true they have in the past spoken out against violence their objective is a return to the Caliphate and the imposition of Sharia law. It’s been well known that they have an association with Iran and Hezbollah along with Hamas. They’re peaceful philosophy has become questionable in recent years. They have also had members who were/are associated with Al Qaeda.
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
10:30 am
Higher def video than CNN is over at http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:30 am
“What would Jesus say to do?”
‘Render under Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s”
Nothing there about tax evasion.
Ah …………….. and remember Caesar was a dictator.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:32 am
‘In every disaster, there’s always some redeeming feature.”
nice.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:33 am
BADA BING :
I bet there will be a truce to watch the Super Bowl.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:34 am
Jay:
If the people of Vietnam were doing the exact same thing as the Egyptians would you be supporting them ?
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:35 am
Absolutely, Scout. Why on earth would you ask that?
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
10:36 am
“Obama Reportedly Urging Mubarak Not to Run Again ”
I wonder if Obama could practice what he preaches?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:37 am
aaaaand, fires have broken out – you can see it inside one of the shuttered businesses
Del
February 2nd, 2011
10:38 am
Scout, they’re well aware that our fragile economy couldn’t withstand a disruption of the Suez and of course the world economy couldn’t withstand it either. Should the worst case scenario occur and Egypt turns into an Islamic state controlled by radicals and or Iran it would then become very ugly.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:39 am
holy crap – big molotov cocktail dropped from at least 7 or 8 stories
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
10:40 am
“REPORT: US, EU discussing need for international military intervention to remove Mubarak… ”
Uh oh….could this be Obama’s “illegal” war? How will we pay for it? How long will we “occupy” Egypt? The questions….the questions….
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:37 am
Are you sure it’s not just an open fire pizzeria?
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
Who cares about Anderson Cooper? I want to know about the condition of Joe the Camel!
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
From Twitter:
“Ayman Nour says he’s surrounded by govt thugs in Bab el-Louq, Cairo”
Nour finished second — with 7 percent — in the 2005 “fair” presidential elections in which Mubarak got 89 percent. Shortly afterward, he was arrested, beaten and imprisoned for five years.
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
Scout:
Better a righteous chaos than a false peace that crushes the spirit of the righteous.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
10:44 am
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
10:41 am
Was Carter’s middle east treaty “a false peace that crushes the spirit of the righteous.”?
Paul
February 2nd, 2011
10:45 am
Jay
Thanks for the earlier.
Anyone else with a broadband connection interested, live coverage from al jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
10:47 am
good gawd, there some guy who’s being treated like a pinata – he’s anti-Mubarak and has gotten a severe beat-down, is surrounded by people trying to get him to safety who are, themselves, surrounded by people trying to get at the guy they’re protecting …
@@
February 2nd, 2011
10:48 am
I’m not questioning whether what Obama did was right or wrong…I’m just saying this guy thinks Obama talks too much without saying anything of value.
What does Washington do now? Does Obama just keep going out there making new statements every day? No. When I wrote last night that Obama’s statement didn’t quite go far enough and he shouldn’t even have bothered, this is the kind of thing I had in the back of my mind. Don’t say anything unless you really have something to say that can impact the situation.
I share his sentiment.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:49 am
Jay @ 10:35
I was just wondering.
A lot of the Vietnamese people did that once ………. and hundreds of thousands voted with their feet by leaving that ugly “Uncle Ho” in the North.
We tried to help them (with not a whole lot of support from you liberals) and alas those mean “Northies” came and took them back (many to re-education camps for as long as 10 years)>
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:51 am
Left wing management :
I don’t think that’s in my Bible.
Chapter and verse please.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:54 am
“Protesters tell ‘The Jerusalem Post’ they don’t feel Egypt is completely free of Israeli occupation, “Camp David made us a slave.”
Hey, I was there following them around (Carter, Begin and Sadat) as they walked the paths at Camp David.
I thought it went very well ……………………..
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
10:55 am
I’m guessing Proverbs.
cosby smith
February 2nd, 2011
10:56 am
Not sure where you are going with this blog Jay…Egypt is serious and no news seems to be digging into the reality nor how this “just happened”. If the Muslim factor takes over and they now have US weapons and control of the Suez Canal, the world game changes dramatically..but again this did not “just happen” and you wonder where the leadership in DC has been…for many many years…after all, the main purpose per the dreaded constitution of the DC crowd is to protect the USA and deal with the foreighn elements..apparently another failure by DC..but then lets tax the rich…The game is changing befor our eyes and neither the news nor DC seems to know what the h… to do about it…sad very sad
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:56 am
Hummmmmmmmmmmmmm and double Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm …………………..
“US, EU discussing need for international military intervention to remove Mubarak”
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:57 am
ByteMe
Chapter and verse please.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
10:57 am
Darkness starting to fall in Cairo; Molotov cocktails raining down on protesters from surrounding buildings. This is going to get very bad.
As for that garbage about US military intervention, it came from Drudge.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
10:59 am
Jay …………….
On second thought maybe you had better cancell that trip to Cairo. It’s a little more dangerous than you experience there at the AJC.
“CNN producer Steve Brusk Tweeted, “Anderson (Cooper) said he was punched 10 times in the head as pro-Mubarak mob surrounded him and his crew trying to cover demonstration.”
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
10:59 am
Scout: I did a google of the statement and that’s what it came up with. Then I switched back to CNN
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
11:00 am
Scout:
Not an actual biblical verse, just a fictional verse offered by Left Wing Management.
Leg lamp:
Here’s a mystery quote for you. Can you name the mystery author of these words:
“Therefore negotiations are urged without regard to the history of negotiations. This history is not reassuring. Unless one side of a negotiation has been utterly defeated, negotiations typically are dangerously destabilizing.… Even the best that Camp David could bring about was a stalemate, rather than a peace.”
Del
February 2nd, 2011
11:01 am
From a bit of a rocky beginning I think the administration has been handling the Egyptian situation as best that it can be done publicly. Behind the scenes we don’t know and shouldn’t know at this point. Obama didn’t do himself any favors by coming on national television yesterday evening after his 30 minute conversation with Mubarak and made it sound as though his discussion influenced Mubarak’s decision. And that he, Obama, was pressuring Mubarak to begin the transition process now. Today’s events clearly show that Obama did not influence Mubarak.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:01 am
“As for that garbage at the start of this thread, it came from Bookman.”
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
11:01 am
Rocks, now fire. But no guns. Gun control in Egypt??
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:03 am
Left wing management.
“Not an actual biblical verse, just a fictional verse offered by Left Wing Management. ”
That’s what I thought.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:04 am
Drudge doesn’t even offer a link to that alleged “report.”
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
11:04 am
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
11:00 am
The Reverend Jesse Jackson?……..Al Gore?…..the Reverend Al Sharpton?…….Keith Olberman?…..Rachel Maddow?…..Cher?…..
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:06 am
multiple, multiple reports of media — foreign and Egyptian — being targeted for violence.
Southern Muslim Guy
February 2nd, 2011
11:06 am
Would all women and Scout leave the blog please.
I am wishing to converse with men now.
Thank you.
5minutes.
Halla calla saalaam.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
11:06 am
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:04 am
It says “developing”, Jay…….give it time………
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
11:07 am
drudge /drʌdʒ/ Show Spelled
[druhj] Show IPA
noun, verb, drudged, drudg·ing.
–noun
1. a person who does menial, distasteful, dull, or hard work.
2. a person who works in a routine, unimaginative way
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
11:09 am
awwww … does Drudge still think he’s relevant???
how cute.
Soothsayer
February 2nd, 2011
11:09 am
Hell’s a poppin’
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:10 am
Jay:
“As for that garbage about US military intervention”
We’ll bring this up again if that canal ever gets closed.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
11:10 am
“‘Camp David made us slave,’ Egyptian protester says… ”
Hmm……how can we blame Camp David on W?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
11:10 am
watching Sky coverage – in the middle of the mob going nutty throwing rocks, there’s 1 guy standing there with his arms outstretched to either side and has remained there, unmoved and (surprisingly) unhit for the last 3 or 4 minutes …
AmVet
February 2nd, 2011
11:11 am
Just curious, neither Lamper nor Scout mentioned how they felt about journalists from the Communist News Network and elsewhere being beaten. (Tacit approval, boys?)
What a shame that paragon of courage and valor is not on site to cover these events. After all Billy O has been in a firefight!
Soothsayer
February 2nd, 2011
11:11 am
If you don’t have CNN on right now you should!
StJ
February 2nd, 2011
11:13 am
“9:16 Fox News interviewing Mitch McConnell on health care repeal? Really?”
I guess Fox didn’t consult with you first before deciding what to air. But then again, you can’t write anything without slamming one or more of “the enemy”, even if the subject matter doesn’t have anything to do with them.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:14 am
Jay:
If you don’t think the U.S. military has a full scale invasion plan for Egypt to hold that canal (and they are now reviewing it for any possibility) you are pretty naive.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:15 am
Of course they do, Scout.
That’s a far cry from using military force to overthrow Mubarak, which is utter and absolute nonsense.
“Garbage,” I think, is the technical term.
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
11:15 am
“I guess Fox didn’t consult with you first before deciding what to air”
I get it. It’s OK for YOU to criticized JAY, but it’s NOT OK for Jay to criticize FOX “News”
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:18 am
Southern Muslim Guy :
Are you wearing one of thos Hijab sack dresses or britches ?
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
11:18 am
Indeed history is being made before our eyes, while some only think of the price of oil.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
11:20 am
AmVet
February 2nd, 2011
11:11 am
“journalists from the Communist News Network ”
No, I don’t want to see any CNN journalists beaten.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:20 am
From the Guardian blog (UK), regarding a Tweet by US State Dep’t spokesman PJ Crowley, and they do have a point:
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:21 am
Jay:
The phrase was “discussing need” …………….. not “using”.
You need to work on your reading comprehension before you get all worked up.
Common Sense isn't very Common
February 2nd, 2011
11:21 am
Hell Scout the military has plans for everything including invading California I bet. LOL
Lack of Proper Planning etc.
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
11:22 am
Southern Muslim….a round of Slurpies for everyone on the blog today, on me.
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
11:22 am
This is no tianamen with communist government suppression of protestors. This is democracy in action, the people are speaking.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
11:22 am
I’m always amused by the protesters that surround jay here….the Pro-jay Protesters.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
11:22 am
aaand, here comes the tear gas …
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:23 am
Jay:
“That’s a far cry from using military force to overthrow Mubarak, which is utter and absolute nonsense.
“Garbage,” I think, is the technical term.’ ”
Hummmmmmmmm ………………….
Did you used to say that about overthrowing Sadam ?
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
11:23 am
Bada – can’t – brain freeze
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
11:23 am
“Did you used to say that about overthrowing Sadam ?”
and boy-howdy did THAT turn out well …
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:24 am
USinUK :
Nasty stuff …………. I’ve been gassed four times with it …… lots of snot bubbles ………………
ChasL
February 2nd, 2011
11:24 am
Wow, such biased opinion AJC. Only pro-government people are evil, orchestrated, undemocratic “bad people”?
Free will is a b!tch ain’t it? No matter what side these people are on, it’s not democracy – not when one form of violence replaces another.
This is what happens when there’s chaos and statelessness. 81 million Egyptians fundamental human rights are violated by the few who weild violence.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
11:25 am
Is there any way of knowing whether tweets are coming from Egyptians? I don’t know anything about tweeting…twittering or whatever the heck they call it.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:25 am
USinUK :
That’s NOT the point for Jay. The point is we DID overthrow him.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:25 am
The unlinked “report” on Drudge was so ridiculous that even Drudge has pulled it down.
Alatsea
February 2nd, 2011
11:26 am
Jay,
Rocks and sticks have been the weapon choice for decades in the fertile crescent.
jt
February 2nd, 2011
11:26 am
On a lighter note
The Dude is back………………
‘Big Lebowski 2′ in the works?
Could Tara Reid have provided us with the best “cat out of the bag” moment so far this year?
Hollywood.tv recently asked Tara Reid, who played the toenail-polished Bunny in the oft-quoted “The Big Lebowski,” what projects she’s got coming up and, yes, she said it: “Big Lebowski 2.”
“The whole cast should be coming back for that,” she said.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:27 am
decades, Alatsea?
millenia is more like it.
USinUK
February 2nd, 2011
11:29 am
Scout – 11:24 – was that YOU in all those World Bank protests??
11:25 – yeah, we DID overthrow Sadam – and it was sooooo successful, that any rumor that we would try the same thing again rates as “garbage” (although, I would say “bollocks”)
Alatsea
February 2nd, 2011
11:30 am
I stand corrected
Southern Muslim Guy
February 2nd, 2011
11:30 am
BADA BING
I will only converse on a “man-only” blog. As long as Scout is here, I will not partake.
As for the Slurpies, I will have to get that money up front. I am out of slurpie cups but these styrofoam ones are just as good.
Thank you.
Joe the Plutocrat
February 2nd, 2011
11:31 am
Del (10:38). again, enough with the fear mongering and boogey-man nonsense? the stability or fragility of “our” economy is our fault. if our economy is “fragile” we need to have a foreign policy, which does not rely on despots and autocrats to ’stabilize’ OUR economy. were you concerned about such “instability” when we invaded Iraq? Scout, ah…. Caesar was also an “Emperor” (from the word EMPIRE). the fact that Rome occupied Galilee makes him more like Bush/Obama than Mubara.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
11:32 am
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:25 am
Maybe Obama flipped his “internet kill” switch on that article.
RW-(the original)
February 2nd, 2011
11:33 am
That “all sides need to show restraint” is a time-honored favorite with the Obama team. Remember when the Georgians were supposed to show restraint while they were being plowed under by the Russians? Too bad we can’t get him to show any restraint as he throws all our grandchildren’s money down a rat hole.
Alatsea
February 2nd, 2011
11:34 am
The troubling thing is that is hard to tell who is who. I believe for now that the US should stay out of the fray. Some are talking about a replacement for Mubarak. Who? Does the administration have someone waiting in the wings? If so we must have him drugged up.
Duane Seigler
February 2nd, 2011
11:34 am
http://egyptinternetprotest.blogspot.com/
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
11:36 am
Leg Lamp:
The late Sen. Jesse Helms
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
11:37 am
Mubarak is the duly elected prsident of the republic and it looks like he’s shown a lot of restraint with the protestors. Kind of like Nixo0n back in the day.
barking frog
February 2nd, 2011
11:38 am
The pontificating prevaricating purveyors of plutocracy ponder
the protests to prognosticate the benefits of picking a participating
party to support.
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
11:38 am
Southern Muslim, can I pay you in Egyptian pounds? Are you interested in some ancient Egyptian artifacts I found on eBay?
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
11:38 am
John Birch: “Mubarak is the duly elected prsident”
Duly elected? What does “duly” mean?
barking frog
February 2nd, 2011
11:40 am
Hosni is getting hosed.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:40 am
Jay:
“The unlinked “report” on Drudge was so ridiculous that even Drudge has pulled it down.”
Too bad you haven’t pulled some of yours down.
MAKO
February 2nd, 2011
11:40 am
Bookman…again you show how silly the liberal mind works. In China, the government was in control; in Egypt no one is sure who’s in charge. Maybe it’s time for you to take a few months and go visit the Middle East and actually meet the people and learn something about their wants of the future. If you did, you’d be light years ahead of most people.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:40 am
Yeah, dropping firebombs on previously peaceful demonstrators is “restraint.”
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:41 am
if that’s the best you got, Scout….
barking frog
February 2nd, 2011
11:41 am
SoMuGu, does a man only blog exclude men wearing dresses?
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
11:42 am
Means he got 88% of the vote in the 2005 general election in accordance with the law of the land, as opposed to some dictator seizing power.
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
11:42 am
Jay – Is Mubarke or the army doing that? Who are these pro-Mubarek forces?
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
11:44 am
Jay – Is Mubarek presumed to be insane? What does he gain by firebombing the protestors?
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
11:44 am
“Means he got 88% of the vote ”
It isn’t who votes that matter. It’s who COUNTS the votes that matters.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:44 am
Left wing management :
Are the leaders of Venezuela, Vietnam, North Korea, China even Russia “duly” elected?
You guys don’t seem to have a problems with that.
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
11:44 am
Let’s speculate on what to do.
Misty Fyed
February 2nd, 2011
11:45 am
I do not wish to see violence; however, I believe some wars have to be fought. When you look at our experience at trying to spread a democratic form of government, there has only been marginal success. Freedom is something that has to be fought for and earned to truly be appreciated. Freedom that is given is never the same as freedom that is earned.
Imagine if the world would have urged calm and insisted on a peaceful solution during our revolutionary or civil war. One of the greatest super powers of all time may not have been. As it stands, we fought; paid a dear price in casualties, but in the end, we emerged stronger and better.
barking frog
February 2nd, 2011
11:45 am
Egypt needs to enact Presidential term limits and lower taxes.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:46 am
“if that’s the best you got, Scout….”
Nope …………… but it’s the best you’ll alow on this thread.
AmVet
February 2nd, 2011
11:46 am
This should play out really interesting here at home.
Just as was the case with the Iraqis, the neo-cons will try to snowjob themselves and the unfortunate fools who listen to them, that they actually give a damn about the people affected.
(But this time will it be the fifth of sixth “reason” to invade?)
As has already been touched on, hyper-xenophobic cons only care about things – the Suez Canal and relatively cheap oil, certainly not ANY Mooslims.
Especially as long as that country remains a US armed puppet and “ally”…
RW-(the original)
February 2nd, 2011
11:46 am
Yeah, dropping firebombs on previously peaceful demonstrators is “restraint.”
Of course it isn’t, but the Obama administration is telling the peaceful protestors that are being fire bombed to show restraint. Isn’t that your point about the reaction to Crowleys “all sides” statement?
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:47 am
P.S.
Way back I used to try to have professional (even private emails) exchanges with you.
Unfortunately, you didn’t recirprocate.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
11:47 am
Maybe not a public statement, but the Obama administration has definitely put the word out behind the scenes.
When Obama’s press team sent reporters a “read out” about his calls to the region’s leaders, it also included the phrase. “The military is very much aware of what we expect and everything they’ve said to us privately tracks with what they’ve done in public,” the first administration official said.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/02/how-the-white-house-approached-egyptial-turmoil/70646/
Open to speculation, I’d say.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:47 am
What does he gain, John Birch?
He sends would-be rebels a message: “You think you want a piece of me?”
The same message that the Chinese sent at Tiananman Square, an event that has since been wiped from the collective Chinese memory.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award".....
February 2nd, 2011
11:48 am
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
11:36 am
Was he in the same chapter of the Klan as Robert Byrd?
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
11:49 am
Misty Fyed :
Did you ever get my email address from ATSAIC GC?
Got to run …………..back later.
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
11:50 am
I wish they would use the tanks a little bit. After all, WE paid for them.
Misty Fyed
February 2nd, 2011
11:51 am
Scout…waiting on call back from GC.
barking frog
February 2nd, 2011
11:54 am
@pjcrowley,@barakobama,@statedepartment what are you doing to help us, we’re being killed by Mubarak in Tahrir, long live US Freedom!!!!!
————————————————————————
It is amazing that the protestors would even consider pleading
for the US to help. The world belief in the US as a freedom fighter,
though unfounded, will never die.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
11:59 am
The lights have been shut off at Tahrir Square, and all exits have been closed. The panic and desperation of those trapped there can only be imagined.
barking frog
February 2nd, 2011
12:06 pm
The Ivy League boys are setting the stage for the entry
of the Africa Command to open a theater of operations
in Africa. Egypt is in Africa, after all.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:06 pm
Indeed, STRATFOR is told that the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who is also the country’s defense minister and emerged as deputy premier in the Egyptian government’s new Cabinet announced on Saturday, is looking at the Algerian model as a way to influence future politics in Cairo. The Algerian military in the 1990s was able to guide the formation of a new multi-party democratic political system, one in which all forces (centrists, Islamists and leftists) were accommodated. But the Algerian model was only made possible after a decadelong bloody Islamist insurgency, which was triggered by the army annulling elections in which the country’s then-largest Islamist movement was headed toward a landslide victory in the 1990 parliamentary elections, then the army engaging in a massive crackdown on the Islamists.
I’ll have to go check out Algeria now. So many countries…
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:10 pm
Same thing going on in Algeria.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:11 pm
Based on what I’m reading, I fear our leftists will rise up any day. Same complaints as those in Egypt and Algeria.
willie lynch
February 2nd, 2011
12:17 pm
This would seem to indicate that the military is satisfied with the solution offered by Mubarak and in their estimation have let the protesters have their day. Now it’s time to return to the way things were, wait it out, then elect the new dictator. Don’t be fooled the military runs this country. Don’t forget it was members of the military that assassinated Sadat.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:22 pm
willie:
Don’t forget it was members of the military that assassinated Sadat
It was member of the Muslim Brotherhood within the military that assassinated Sadat. The higher ranking military has since, sought to quash the MB within and without.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
12:23 pm
That’s my sense too, Willy Lynch.
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:23 pm
Whoooaaaa! When I hit refresh, ALL text was emboldened. What’s up with that???
Normal
February 2nd, 2011
12:24 pm
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:23 pm
It means you are being watched….
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
12:26 pm
and as AmVet is about to explain….
AmVet
February 2nd, 2011
12:28 pm
“It means you are being watched….”
And that Jay knows what you are going to write before you even hit the submit comment button…
Normal
February 2nd, 2011
12:32 pm
JAY!
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:34 pm
Are there female police in Egypt? I just saw a female supporting Mubarak.
ByteMe
February 2nd, 2011
12:34 pm
AJE shows the lights on in the square. CNN was showing darkness before they cut away to talk about the blizzard.
AmVet
February 2nd, 2011
12:36 pm
Now that was funny!
I cannot keep track of the nonsense proffered here, nor by which illustrious poster, but if memory serves correctly, one evening there was an embarrassing assertion about JB’s prognostication powers.
I think it was NiF?
jt
February 2nd, 2011
12:37 pm
Ron Paul has been a persistent critic of foreign aid including aid to Egypt. For example, in 2009, he spoke out against aid to Egypt and to the IMF that provides aid to Egypt. He opposed a–
“$108 billion loan guarantee to the International Monetary Fund, allowing that destructive organization to continue spending taxpayer money to prop up corrupt elites and promote harmful economic policies overseas.
“As Americans struggle through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, this emergency supplemental appropriations bill sends billions of dollars overseas as foreign aid. Included in this appropriation is $660 million for Gaza, $555 million for Israel, $310 million for Egypt, $300 million for Jordan, and $420 million for Mexico. Some $889 million will be sent to the United Nations for ‘peacekeeping’ missions. Almost one billion dollars will be sent overseas to address the global financial crisis outside our borders and nearly $8 billion will be spent to address a “potential pandemic flu.’”
Afaf El Shenawy
February 2nd, 2011
12:39 pm
The regime in Egypt uses thugs and gangs to intimidate us in our homes and force us to go down the street to support of Mubarak.
Please urge the Egyptian government to respect human rights and rein in the security forces.
please HELP
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:39 pm
Normal:
I’m being watched!!??!!
Are you trying to tell YOUR MOMENT is upon me? THIS IS YOUR TIME…THE TIME WHEN YOU’LL BE TURNING THE PAGE at jay’s place!!??!!
You and jay have taken over!!??!!
schnirt
I’m off to pick up a bike.
Doggone/GA
February 2nd, 2011
12:42 pm
“one evening there was an embarrassing assertion about JB’s prognostication powers.
I think it was NiF?”
I don’t remember who it was either, but it happened during that 2-3 week period when the server messed up and was posting comments out of timestamped order, so sometimes a reply showed up before the question. And someone, truly in ALL seriousness, got really bent out of shape because he thought Jay could see what he was typing before he even sent it!
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
February 2nd, 2011
12:44 pm
Jay @ 12:26
So, it IS true!!!!
@@
February 2nd, 2011
12:44 pm
AmVet:
Not near as funny as the time you assumed control of Luckovich’s by spamming it for two days running. Your anger was directed at one particular blogger.
I think it was Andy.
I’m out.
jt
February 2nd, 2011
12:45 pm
Afaf El Shenawy
Sorry dude,
As a smoker and non-seat belt wearing liberty loving individual, I have my hands full here.
I am with you in spirit though.
Peace be with you.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
12:52 pm
from Mohamed ElBaradei:
“After today people are realising just what they’re dealing with. Now they’re not just talking about the man responsible leaving the country, they’re also talking about putting him on trial. If he has an iota of dignity left, he should leave. Mubarak has received a vote of no confidence by the entire Egyptian people.
Our determination not to hold negotiations with the government until Mubarak leaves has only been strengthened today. First of all this is not a negotiation – we the people have legitimate demands and we would like to tell the government what to do. Our freedom is not up for negotiation. Secondly how can you negotiate with a regime that is killing its people? When I see some of the young people heading on to the streets and then corpses coming back the other way, it makes you cringe that this could be a state [sic]…I will be encouraging people campaigning for change to return to the streets, and I think Friday will be a very big day in that respect. But even if they don’t, even if they are repressed and crushed, there is still no going back.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
1:04 pm
It was the unhinged NiF — and from the two times I’ve ventured over at Tucker’s blog since then, he’s still just as unhinged.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
1:07 pm
“I fear our leftists will rise up any day. Same complaints as those in Egypt and Algeria.”
Those on the LEFT are calling Obama a dictator? Wow, talk about being upside down and rightside up.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
1:09 pm
Jay,
“Mubarak has received a vote of no confidence by the entire Egyptian people.”
As I mentioned to Del earlier, I wonder how many of the new protesters are actually pro-Mubarek or just “pro-let’s let this run its course in due time?”
Kamchak
February 2nd, 2011
1:10 pm
I cannot keep track of the nonsense proffered here, nor by which illustrious poster, but if memory serves correctly, one evening there was an embarrassing assertion about JB’s prognostication powers.
I think it was NiF?
Yep.
Drain The Swamp (NIF)
March 17th, 2010
4:55 pm
Don’t you think that the posters here should know that you can watch them writing before the post it?
Wouldn’t that be the decent thing to do?
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
February 2nd, 2011
1:11 pm
Bosch
That’s just like the two left-leaning blogs appear to have more right-leaning posters. Go figure.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
February 2nd, 2011
1:11 pm
Well, I don’t trust Bookman and that’s the reason why I write out my posts with a pencil and paper before I type them in. I don’t want him looking around the trailer or the beer truck or anyplace else I post from. Anybody that can answer a question before it’s even asked on this blog is liable to be able to do most anything.
Have a good p.m. everybody.
patriot
February 2nd, 2011
1:16 pm
Another Tiananmen Square? Were we shelling out billions of dollars to pay for the tanks and the guns and the bullets and the training of the Chinese too???
This whole incident is just another example of the blowback that comes from our interventionist foreign policy that can’t keep its nose out of other people’s business. We have propped up this dictator for 30 years with money he has spent killing a terrorizing his people. Every gun, tear gas canister, F-16, tank, etc. was paid for with US taxpayer dollars. Don’t think the Egyptians don’t know that.
Good luck with your freedom Egyptians. You deserve it just like everyone else does. Hopefully our government will keep out of this and allow you to decide your future for yourselves (good luck with that).
Jefferson
February 2nd, 2011
1:18 pm
If it weren’t for the interest payment, the US could chip in … but Bush spent all the savings.
Jay
February 2nd, 2011
1:19 pm
Just now, from White House spokesman Robert Gibbs:
“The time for a change has come, and that time is now.”
joe
February 2nd, 2011
1:20 pm
Unreal…but on the other hand, very believable cause that’s what dictators do…kill whenever their rule is threatened. God bless our free way of life here is the good ole U.S.A. (for those who despise our country, wishing it were more socialist or worse, be careful what you wish for. These poor people of Egypt are dying for what we already have here–thanks to our forefathers who fought for our freedom. Remember that next time you vote).
jt
February 2nd, 2011
1:25 pm
This increased the price of a pack of cigarettes by 87%.
With the average egyptian making around 2 dollars a day………devastating.
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Tax increase on tobacco products effective 1
July 2010
The MoF submitted a tax proposal to Egypt’s
Parliament in June 2010. The Parliament agreed
to:
change Egypt’s • tier tax system to a mixture of ad
valorem and specific tax system.
• a uniform rate so that all cigarettes would be
subject to the same rate of tax.
• a 40% ad valorem rate on the retail price of
cigarettes plus LE 1.25 (US$ 0.22) per pack
specific excise on cigarettes.
• extend the tax increase to cover loose tobacco by
100%.
The new tax change became effective on 1 July
2010.
Keep this in mind Washington.
And butt out on our salt intake.
Bosch
February 2nd, 2011
1:27 pm
SoCo,
I think it’s just the population of the State is more redder — and alot of the right wing posters seem to be retired or unemployed with nothing else to do but gripe about keeping the government out of their Medicare….
BADA BING
February 2nd, 2011
1:44 pm
If all these other country’s leaders topple at the same time Egypt does, Hillary, and all the pundits and reporters, are going to have to learn how to spell and pronounce a lot of hard replacement names.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
February 2nd, 2011
1:49 pm
Bosch
LOL!!!!!
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
1:57 pm
This is more like Iran in 1978 than Tianamen square although the Shah didn’t send in the counter insurgents. Better hope we don’t get the Muslim brotherhood coming out on top like the ayatollah did.
Scout
February 2nd, 2011
1:57 pm
Misty Fyed :
10-4, do you still get SOT ………………….
John Birch
February 2nd, 2011
2:00 pm
Joe – Yeah the feds only killed about 250,000 rebs in this country in 1859-65 when there was a revolt against the established power structure. thank god we americans are so much more civilizied!
Curse 'O The Mummy
February 2nd, 2011
2:14 pm
Jay the most interesting thing in your piece today is the pic of that very hot young chickadee. The rest of it, your geopolitical analyses and predictions, bring to mind the expression “The heavy thoughts of a light thinker”.
George W
February 2nd, 2011
2:19 pm
Just another example of an Arab/African country spiraling into chaios.
Left wing management
February 2nd, 2011
3:21 pm
There is great chaos under the heavens. The situation is excellent. – Mao
independent thinker
February 2nd, 2011
8:58 pm
Old Hossnei Mubarak is just toying with his enemies and wearing them out like Wylie Coyote. His supporters are sending a message to Jimmy Carter and all the other pro Muslim Brotherhood nuts in the US of who is still the boss in Egypt. I cannot blame Mubarak for being mad at the press. They all made it sound like the country was falling apart economically. A few statistics may be in order – the unemployment rate is lower in Egypt than in Georgia -9.7% and their GDP grew at over 6% last year -more than double the US. And as to all those young protesters who claim there are no jobs for college graduates- I bet it is about the same as for current graduates in the US. Almost 70% of Egyptians get government subsidies -mainly food. How much of that was in the news? Maybe Mubarak should encourage the unemployed and poor to rise up in the US. See what old Jimmy says then.